Britain will get its first 4G mobile internet network within weeks, after
regulators brushed aside competition concerns to approve plans by Everything
Everywhere to reuse its old spectrum licences.

It will mean that for months Everything Everywhere’s network will be the only one to make the most of upcoming generation of smartphones and tablets, which, as well as 3G, will have 4G mobile internet capabilities as standard.

The operator will be allowed to effectively “flip a switch” from 11 September to create a network that will typically offer downloads 10 times faster than its 3G network.

Eventually, downloads at up to 300 megabits per second will be possible, three times faster than the current fastest fixed line broadband packages.

Everything Everywhere, Britain’s largest mobile operator with 27 million custmers, has a surplus of 2G spectrum because it was formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile in 2010. It applied to Ofcom last autumn to reuse some of the spectrum, in the 1800MHz band, which is suited to 4G.

Allowing the change “will deliver significant benefits to consumers, and that there is no material risk that those benefits will be outweighed by a distortion of competition”, Ofcom said.

Along with Three, O2 and Vodafone will have to bid for new spectrum licences at auction later this year. They are expected to introduce their 4G networks from next year if the auction process does not become bogged down in threatened legal action.

Vodafone said it was "frankly shocked" at Ofcom's decision in favour of Everything Everywhere's plan.

"The regulator has shown a careless disregard for the best interests of consumers, businesses and the wider economy through its refusal to properly regard the competitive distortion created by allowing one operator to run services before the ground has been laid for a fully competitive 4G market," a Vodafone spokesman said.

Britain is already years behind the United States and some European countries in deploying faster mobile internet services, leading to widespread criticism of bureaucratic delays.

"The regulator has spent several years refusing to carry out a fair and open auction. Now its decision today has granted the two most vociferous complainants during that entire process a massive incentive to further delay it," Vodafone's spokesman said.

The upcoming generation of smartphones, including, it is believed, the iPhone 5, will take advantage of the new technology. Apple is expected to unveil its new handset on 12 September, though there are doubts it will support the 1800MHz band as American 4G networks use different frequencies.

Everything Everywhere, would gain a significant advantage if it were the only network compatible with the iconic smartphone’s new faster mobile internet capabilities, however.

"Ofcom's decision to make 4G available this year is great news for the UK," a spokesman for the firm said.

"Consumers will soon be able to benefit from the much greater mobile speeds that 4G will deliver. 4G will drive investment, employment and innovation and we look forward to making it available later this year, delivering superfast mobile broadband to the UK.”

Everything Everywhere has been replacing its infrastructure in preparation for the 4G signalling standard, also known as Long-Term Evolution, via a deal with the Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturer Huawei.

It is understood that major cities that have already benefited from the upgrade programme could get faster mobile internet coverage relatively easily by simply turning on the new masts’ in-built 4G capabilities. Everything Everywhere will iintroduce its 4G services under a new brand; it has registered trademarks including "4G Everything" and "4GEE".